Hans Speidel

Hans Speidel (28 October 1897-28 November 1984) was a General of West Germany who served as Supreme Commander of NATO ground forces in Central Europe from 1957 to 1963. Formerly the aide-de-camp of Erwin Rommel, Speidel was involved with the German Resistance during World War II.

Biography
Hans Speidel was born on 28 October 1897 in Metzingen, German Empire. He joined the Imperial German Army in 1914 and served in World War I, and during the Interwar Years he rose in the ranks of the Reichswehr. On the eve of World War II, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, and he served in the Battle of France in 1940, and in April 1944 he was sent to become Erwin Rommel's Chief-of-Staff while he led Army Group B in France. On 26 August 1944, Speidel refused to deliver Alfred Jodl's orders to shoot V1 and V2 rockets at Paris to Walther Model, having taken part in the July 20 bomb plot against Fuhrer Adolf Hitler due to his friendship with Field Marshal Rommel (a conspirator) and his hatred of Hitler's racial policies. On 29 April 1945 he was freed from Gestapo prison by France, and after the war he was involved with creating West Germany's Bundeswehr army. Speidel was appointed the Supreme Commander of NATO ground forces in Central Europe in 1957 as a General, and he held the post until 1963. He died in 1984 at the age of 87.